HAVE: Adopt a Milkweed newbie - Part 2

Milkweed newbies: Have you ever thought about planting milkweed (Asclepias species) to provide habitat for monarchs in your own backyard?

Butterfly enthusiasts: Do you wish more gardeners would plant milkweeds (Asclepias sp.) in their gardens to support declining monarch populations?

Here's where we come together!

This is a variation of previous adopt-a-newbie swaps, but the focus of this swap is for milkweed seeds. This exchange will run through the end of the year, as milkweed growers have seeds become available that they want to share.

"Newbies" are considered to be gardeners who do not already have milkweed growing in their gardens.

As recently pointed out in a post by docmom, Monarch butterflies are currently in serious decline. Here in the US, where they spend their breeding season, Monarchs are directly faced with habitat destruction. Monarch butterflies exclusively use milkweeds (Asclepias sp.) as their host plants, upon which they lay eggs and their caterpillars feed on the milkweed until they pupate. The planting of milkweeds in home gardens can greatly aid in providing much needed habitat for their conservation. In addition to serving as host plants for monarchs, milkweeds also provide nectar for many other butterflies, bees, and other pollinators.

Costs to the Milkweed Newbie Adoptee:
--will pay the postage to the person sending them seeds (or plants) in advance.
--"seeds only" are the easiest and cheapest postage. Sending a pack of milkweed seeds, in a bubble envelope or otherwise wrapped for protection, will cost approx. 2 to 5 first class stamps, depending on the packaging.

Milkweed Newbie Adoptees:
--Please make sure your email address is enabled to "show to members" on your member page. You need to do this in order to be put on the list so that you can be contacted.
--you can list any special requests for certain milkweed species, although there are no guarantees that species will be available.
--sign up by posting here, in this thread.
--include your zone & state.

Traders who want to adopt a milkweed newbie:
--Please pick someone who lives in a hardiness zone where your milkweed species will grow and survive.
--POST HERE FIRST announcing who you are adopting BEFORE you contact the newbie.
--then email the newbie, introducing yourself, providing your screen name, zone, state, and offer to adopt them.
--work out how many stamps they need to send to you to cover the cost of postage and packaging.

The host/hostess(es) will (that's me, and other helpful volunteers):
--compile and post lists of the newbies+zone+state every so often.
--check through recent posts and remove those who have been adopted from the new lists when compiling.

Newbies who get contacted for adoption:
--check back here to see if you have been adopted.
--check the Rate & Review forum regarding the person who contacted you. This is found at: http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/raterev/
--proceed with the adopt, and arrange details for how much postage you need to send to pay for mailing your milkweed seeds.
--send them the postage for what they're gifting.
--After receiving the package, thank your adopter & post here too (so we know the adoption went through).
--Post good feedback / thanks for your adopter on the Rate&Review forum.

Hoping there is lots of interest in this exchange. Feel free to pass the word around to generate more interest.

If the following varities of milkweed are acceptable to preseley and kmaries139, I will adopt them as they live in my growing zone. My email addy is shown on 'my page' here on gardenweb.

preseley - zone 7, AR

kmaries139 - zone 7, AR

Please be aware that some types of milkweed require cold stratification in order for the seed to germinate.

I usually use the winter sowing method to germinate my seed in a plastic juice or cola bottle or milkjug that has been prepared for this easy method of seed germination. Using this method allows for the natural occurrence of cold stratification which is required for many varieties of milkweed. The seed will germinate when mother nature tells them spring has sprung and it is time to get up and get busy! If you want to learn more about "Winter Sowing", there is a great Winter Sowing forum right here on Gardenweb.

Mary, those photos are wonderful! Thank you so much for sharing, and for the very helpful advice on Winter Sowing. That is one of my favorite methods for sowing seeds. I will put you down for adopting both newbies.

FYI, I think it will be best if I simply update the list of "Milkweed Newbies up for Adoption" in the post at the top of this thread, rather than re-posting it over and over. That way people can easily find it without having to scroll through all the posts. I will put a date at the top of the post indicated when it was last updated. You will see posts from me throughout the thread acknowledging updates and welcoming newcomers.

Mary,
That is a wild plant growing around here. Many of the A. tuberosa in this area are that color. All of the A. tuberosa that I have purchased have been the more typical orange color. I have some small Hello Yellow plants that I grew from seed this spring, but it will be awhile before I see flowers. I will try to get some seeds if I see pods.
Katie

I'm still waiting for the pods in my zone to ripen. The plants in my garden didn't get pollinated very well, so the few pods I have on my A. incarnata are small and still green. My A. tuberosa is still blooming, so has not formed any pods yet. And the A. syriaca growing down the road just has lots of green pods. So, don't worry, Newbies. There are still folk out here who will adopt you as soon as the time is right.

I just watched a fantastic presentation by Dr. Chip Taylor
"Monarch Butterfly Conservation: The Challenges Ahead"
via youtube. I found it to be excellent.

It is a rather long presentation (an hour), and you might want to skip the first 6 minutes to get past the rather long introduction by the host. But, for any of you that want to know about the state of the Monarch population, this video is not to be missed.

I have been growing A. tuberosa for a few years and have recently received A. curassavica seeds in a trade. So I'm not a newbie exactly. However, I would like to expand and grow other kinds of milkweeds, particularly A. incarnata and A. verticillata. I have A. tuberosa seeds to trade.
Thanks,
Susan

Dani0025, I know that xiangirl has been super busy these last couple of weeks, and perhaps the seeds aren't ripe yet. You might try emailing her again thru GW if you lost her original email. Let me know if you have troubles getting in touch.

Alana, I would just use my best judgement with how long you should wait to receive stamps before you move on. You're a veteran at this, and can offer much more guidance than I can on an appropriate amount of time to wait before sending seeds to a another, more responsive newbie ;)

I do like keeping track of how many milkweed seeds we get into the hands of gardeners who have never grown milkweed before. This is a collective effort, and I am just the organizer. Here's hoping we can inspire our family, friends, and neighbors into growing milkweeds, too.

Hi, I would love to be adopted. I would be interested in any kind of milkweed as I don't know what varieties there are. Is it pretty easy to grow? I'm in San Diego , California zone 10. Thank you so much.

Hi, I would love to be adopted. I would be interested in any kind of milkweed as I don't know what varieties there are. Is it pretty easy to grow? I'm in San Diego , California zone 10. Thank you so much.

I would love to have some seeds. I could not find plants in several nurseries or seeds either. I see a Monarch butterfly here and there, but not a lot. Would love to help out in preserving their needs.
Darlene

Hi you guys! I'm new to milkweed( had no idea they are so many varieties) would love to grow it! I live in central NC zone 7b I would try your favorite variety:) Thanks so much for doing this.Regards,Itzel.

Just wanted to let you know my MW seed envelopes went out today to my adoptee's:

preseley, zone 7, AR -- adopted by mary_littlerockar

kmaries139, zone 7, AR -- adopted by mary_littlerockar

Questions on how to germinate the milkweed seed ...

There is the Butterfly forum, which is very active and where all sorts of questions related to growing host and nectar plants for butterflies is discussed.

There is the Winter Sowing forum here on Gardenweb. Since most varieties of perennial milkweed seed require cold stratification, Winter Sowing easily meets that requirement. Learn all about winter sowing on this forum.

Also, a new Milkweed specific forum here on Gardenweb is in the works so watch for that forum.

Thanks for the update, Mary! And for the helpful links to get the milkweed newbies started. Personally, I prefer to winter-sow my milkweed seeds. It's nearly foolproof and I don't have to worry about predation of the seeds by any critters or buglies.

I have a feeling we may start picking up the pace as we move into fall and people start thinking about what to plant next year, and milkweed growers start really harvesting their seed.

Hi kchd,
I would like to adopt itzybitzy who is in 7NC hopefully near me. Seed production is doing well and hopefully seed will start to ripen in the next few weeks. See attached photo of A. tuberosa.
Regards,
Mark (wildflowerman_2000)

I had Monarchs from mid June til early August. I thought they would of left me more eggs like the first time but thats when it dipped to about 50 for a few nights straight and 60s during the day...I sure do miss them!

I'm in the Catskill mountains North East. I have a couple acres of common milkweed and would be happy to send pods to those that want it. Still green here but lots of pods. Mine just self seeds everywhere...very rural. I have so much i often have a bag in my car and let it loose out my window to hopefully self seed all the way to Manhattan. : ) wishful thinking but why not?

I have received stamps from Kathunder and will send her seeds as soon as they are ripe. The common milkweed is going slowly and I estimate it may be two more weeks. The swamp milkweed and butterfly weed are also still greenish, but they are close.

Mark,
That's an impressive collection of tuberosa pods. I just counted mine and I have 17 pods on about 10 plants. This is their first year to bloom, so next year should be better. I also found three pods on my first-ever A. curassavica. I don't know how long it takes for those pods to ripen. I would love to get seeds from that plant. I'll keep checking in occasionally to see if anyone from my region needs adopting, since it looks like I'll have plenty to share with at least a few more.

Sounds like people are noticing that the monarchs are doing a disappearing act in their area and personally, I've only seen one all summer. My guess is that the monarchs have vacated areas that don't have a high enough concentration of milkweeds and need to be reintroduced.

So after establishing a few milkweed plants in your garden, it might be necessary to raise larvae yourself. It looks like the monarchwatch site is out of stock for this year too. :( Here's the link anyways:http://shop.monarchwatch.org/RearingKit.htm

I got my seeds from poisondartfrog! thank you so much! I would have posted earlier but me and all four kids have been fighting the flu, ugg, anyways- thanks again for the seeds and i look forward to monarchs showing up here at my house finally!! :)

Hi everyone! Well I'm back from my trip and it looks like I have some updating to do. I will go do so in the list of Newbies to be Adopted right after I post this.

It also looks like I have some housekeeping to do on the list of successful adoptions.

Thanks for the update, domehome! Very generous of you to offer up the tropical milkweed seeds.

Currentriverdenny, I see that you posted your name and zone, but what does that mean? Do you want to adopt or be adopted? Typically, proper etiquette would dictate that you would say something in your post.

Lenahall, how was the native plant sale? Did you pick up lots of goodies? DO tell!

It has been over 3 weeks since I sent an email to floweron offering to adopt. I never received any stamps in the mail or further correspondence. So, I will be moving on to the next newbie. If floweron resurfaces on the thread, then they can be re-added to the list for adoption. I don't feel that it is fair to reserve seeds for a long time, waiting on stamps, when there are other newbies who are waiting to be adopted.

So, with that, I'd like to adopt LullabyF360 and lenahall. I will send you both an email after posting to the thread. Please let me know if you do not receive my email (or check your spam filter).

Socalgardengal and I emailed back and forth and she was going to pick up the seeds (she lives about a mile from me) but I haven't heard from her in about three weeks. I never got her exact address, just the street name, so I can't deliver or mail them. I'll just hold onto the seeds for her - maybe life got in the way. There's still lots of time to plant them in our zone.

Sent my envelope and postage to cghond weeks ago and it has not returned to me. My computer crashed and I lost a lot of my info but still would love to have some seeds if still available. I can send another envelope if you will send me your address!
Thanks.

Pods are ripening slowly. I harvested the Asclepias incarnata last week and I check my tuberosa and curassavica every day. The common milkweed down the road, I check at least weekly. I'll probably walk down there every day this week, since they should start to split soon. I haven't forgotten you, Kathunder, and I've packed up several nice nectar plants and parsley for the Black Swallowtails.

Still soft pods here in NY but the leaves are yellow. I like the rubber band trick i just read about. We are having a slow fall and still without frost. I'll check back and offer when ready just in case anyone wants more or left out.

Only problem is I'm not sure of when I should be picking my milkweed for seed.
When I gently squeeze a pod, the inside feels extremely firm, but the outer hull is still quite soft. I've read that timing is important, don't let your pods split.. But I'm not sure if I'm even close to that point or not.
It's regular common milkweed... Could someone offer some advice on how I know when the pods are about ready to pick or should be picked?

lenahall, I tried to email you. Did you receive it? Are you still interested in being adopted?

Yep, I'm still waiting on a few pods to ripen, myself. Feel free to stop by again, folks, as you are looking to adopt newbies to find happy homes for any extra milkweed seeds you have. BeesNeeds, I would wait until your pods just start to crack open before you harvest seeds.

Dianne/sewwht, feel free to pick a newbie to adopt from the list at the top of this thread. Thanks for the photo!

Hi all! I have received my seeds from xiangirl. I won't be fall planting though, because my husband & I are are buying our first home! The deal has been approved & just waiting on inspections. We know the sellers & the home, everything will pass (:
So I'll be stratifying & planting this spring at our new home.
Thanks xiangirl, for the seeds & the lovely packets with detailed instructions!

I'll have honeyvine milkweed (cynanchum laeve) here shortly if anyone is interested in a few of those seeds. I bit the bullet this year and let it creep along the fence instead of tearing it out. I spotted a monarch on it earlier this year and there's an empty cocoon attached to it that I just noticed last night.

*Not for the faint of heart since this looks like your typical vining weed you pull out of your flower beds! You have to make the mental commitment to letting it grow and not ripping it out!"

Hi there, dr.liz! Thanks for joining us and offering to adopt a newbie! Swamp milkweed is a real beauty, and does well in so many states across the eastern US.

BayL, congrats on your new home!! I hope it is filled with butterflies & pollinators for many years to come. Thanks so much for letting us know that you received your seeds from Heidi/xiangirl. Aren't her seed packets great?!?!!

Cathy/madcatter13, I will put you on the list to be adopted. So glad to have you join us in our quest to plant milkweeds for monarchs and other pollinators!

NKUSigEp, good to see you post again. I'm right there with you on the honeyvine milkweed. If you have the room for it, why not grow that big ole beastie?! I got some seeds for it last year. Talk about some big seeds!!

Hi lenahall! I got your email. Hopefully you got mine in return because I sent you my mailing address. I'll be waiting for your stamps :)

So through this exchange, I have ended up with a handful of different asclepias varieties and am curious; will they hybridize? I have heard showy milkweed and common milkweed will readily cross-pollinate and I'm hoping to avoid that since the showy variety is, by most accounts, a prettier flower and I would like to continue gathering seed from it in the future.

How about swamp milkweed or tropical milkweed? Or is this a lost cause to try to separate them?

Hi guys, don't know how I missed this thread, although I don't usually check the seed exchange over the summer. Anyway, I would be happy to adopt a milkweed newbie. I have Asclepias syriaca, A. tuberosa, A. incarnata, and A. curassavica seeds. Can send a few of each. I've done many seed offers, SASBEs, trades etc. All I need from the newbie is a mailing label and 5 stamps, and baggies if the newbie has them (okay if they don't), all of which can be sent in a 1st class envelope - I can provide a bubble envelope to send the seeds.

NKU, in my experience growing the 4 species above, they have never hybridized. However, I have read of Asclepias syriaca and A. sullivanti hybridizing in the range that they overlap. They are very close in appearance (as far as I can tell in photos, don't think I've ever seen A. sullivanti growing around here).

KCHD, please send a newbie my way. Also, if you have seeds available of your beautiful red A. tuberosa in the picture above, I would love to get some. I have a dark orange plant which which is orange-red, but that photo looks much more red.

I will adopt madcatter13. I just sent her an email. I would be happy to share my milkweed seeds. Sadly, this was the first year since I started butterfly gardening in 2005 that I didn't have any Monarchs lay eggs. Three stopped here last month (I'm assuming they were migrating) and were here for a few days. Of course, that's too late for them to be laying eggs here in PA. I was ready to raise as many as I could have this summer but didn't get the chance. One year I raised 520, but usually it's more like 200. It's a lot of work but so rewarding! I hope that lots of people take interest in helping the Monarchs because they really need it.
Cathy

I received a generous package of seeds from my adoptor cghpnd this past week, even after the post office lost the envelope I had mailed her! Thank you so much! I have some of the seeds planted here in NM and am taking the others back to TX at the end of the month. I will mail you postage on Tue.
Thanks again, Chrystal! This is a great idea!

I kind of did things backwards on here. I contacted darlene87, zone 7, WA and offered her milkweed seeds. She accepted. I am mailing them this morning. So I officially "adopted" her and she accepted. Not all of my adoptees have been successful, so I am excited. I apologize if I did it wrong.
Heidi

Looks like we are due for an update to this thread! Happy to see many of us are taking care of contacting each other and getting those newbies adopted!

caterwallin, xiangirl, and terrene - - thank you all very much for adopting newbies! I will update the Adopt a Milkweed Newbie list at the top of the thread.

michi81, welcome! We are glad to have you join us! I will add you to the list of newbies to be adopted. And it looks like terrene will be taking you under her wing as a milkweed newbie. :)

sher305 and socalgardengal - - thank you both so much for stopping by to thank your adopter and to let us all know you got your seeds. It's wonderful to hear about gardeners who are excited to grow milkweeds in their gardens next year.

terenne & xiangirl, let me know who ends up adopting darlene87? Hahaha, it's awesome to see folks so excited to come together to plant milkweeds for the monarchs, not to mention all the other pollinators that benefit, too.

We have two acres (mostly bare) that I want to make into a habitat for birds and butterflies. I remember milkweed growing wild in Ohio, where I grew up. Now living near Atlanta, I never see it. If someone would be so kind as to adopt me, I would be so grateful.

I would love to be adopted and plant some milkweed seeds in my yard! I live in the DFW TX area (zone 8?) I saw 8 Monarchs on my frostweed last week but they were just passing through as I haven't seen them this week.

I think this is a great idea, and I would love to be adopted. I had a friend in Jonesborough, TN that raises Monarchs and we would go milkweed gathering to feed her "babies". I would love to be adopted by some caring soul out there! LOL

I am in Sanford, NC, Zone 7, I believe. Please contact me and see what we can work out.

I got my care package from docmom yesterday. She sent me 4 different types of milkweed, as well as seeds from several plants to help fill up my butterfly garden. Thanks so much, docmom, you are a great adopter. I can't wait to plant these!

I would be interested in Asclepias syriaca, common milkweed and Asclepias tuberosa, butterfly weed or any milkweeds that grow well in my area, zone 6, Pennsylvania if someone would like to adopt me. Thanks.

I received the seeds today from xiangirl. With a good discription on how to do them along with a photo. So helpful, as I usually have to go online for instructions. I plan to send her a few things on her want list, so will email her.
This was a great idea.
Darlene

Hi Folks,
Well it's official the MILKWEED FORUM is up and running as of 4 PM today (10/21/13). It can be viewed at: http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/milkweed/ . Please pass this along to all your friends and let's all start doing everything "Milkweed" on this site. Thanks to all of you who sent in requests to Gardenweb and for your patience while this site was constructed. It's a brand new look for Gardenweb and our forum is the first to have it. Enjoy!!
Regards,
Mark (wildflowerman_2000)

i received my seeds from KCHD :) thanks so much!!! i have my seed bed ready with some other natives plants from the georgia native plant society... i had hoped for more room for milkweed, but it's a start :) will post pics soon!!

I have a question about planting non-native milkweed. The native milkweed that's been growing wild in my backyard for 35 years, I thought was a weed, and have always dutifully picked off the leaves :( but never dug out the roots. It had a good root system and survived my weeding for 3 decades. About 2 years ago, by (my) mistake, the plant seeded and a new plant grew about 20 feet away. I let it grow, and was shocked one day to walk past this tiny plant and see it sporting 2 stunning huge caterpillars that were so odd but remarkable that I ran into the house to look up what I had--and it's been 'Monarch-love' ever since.

This native milkweed Is Asclepias Fascicularis, native Californian milkweed, a narrow leaved 3 foot tall plant w/ white flower, and is native from So.East WA, and adjacent Idaho, throughout Oregon and California, down to Baja Calif,and into parts of Nevada. It's drought tolerant, can take coastal fog and clay soil. Maybe this should be posted in the new milkweed group?
Anyway, this milkweed has extremely low toxicity compared to other milkweed, barely any. It's not beautiful, looks like a weed, and I'm sure that it would never be found at a regular nursery. The Monarchs in my area zone 10, (So.Cal) love it. They DON'T seem interested in non native milkweed I have tried a few times. How do you old-timer Monarch raisers feel about planting non-native milkweed in your garden? I have read several times that the Monarchs of an area are adapted to the native milkweed and it's toxicity level, and don't do well with non native milkweed with a higher toxicity. Has this been your experience, Monarch raisers in the western states I mentioned?
I let it grow wild in my large backyard this year and have lots of seed for anyone in these states.I have a disability and could only commit to one person at a time, but would be glad to send some out this fall and winter until I run out. I have a lot, and some from last year- is last year's seed still good? It's been kept dry indoors?

I will try to post a link with pics and good info, if you care to read the article on toxicity and the fly pathway of western Monarchs, please let me know what you think, I'd appreciate it. This milkweed is prone to oleander aphids. I crush the fat yellow aphids on sight, and probably accidentally kill some M. eggs or young larvae as a result. Ladybugs and even more so, their larvae eat not just aphids, but eat Monarch eggs and likely the newly hatched Monarch larvae which are VERY tiny.

Sorry if the host wants to move this posting to somewhere else. Maybe this should be discussed elsewhere, but I just had to ask when I saw that tropical milkweed was being grown in San Diego--do you get the local Monarchs thriving on it? It has a much higher toxicity that the locals would be used to, so it says in articles I've read? Just needed to know, thanks!
(I'm not affiliated with the nursery whatsoever, it just has good info to any western newbies-I am pretty much one too) I have to say that my plants NEVER look close to as nice as those in those photos. I'll post a picture of my milkweed with a cat on it taken a month or so ago.

Hi Monarch-Ma-so-cal,
I live near the coast in San Diego. The caterpillars seem to do fine on A. curassavica (tropical). Local nurseries sell it, the San Diego zoo has a lot of it, the butterfly garden in Balboa park has it. But I didn't know there was another milkweed that would grow as a perennial here. I would love to have some seeds of A. fascicularis. I have a perfect place in my low water garden. I'll send you an email.
Ruth

Hi socalgal, I will be glad to send you some A. fascicularis seed, (Cal.native). I would like to trade you for some tropical milkweed, and give it another try. The narrow leaves make it very hard to raise the eggs indoors I'm finding. The eggs hatch, and the tiny little guys wander anywhere but onto those narrow leaves! The A. fascicularis seed would do well being scattered around undeveloped areas that you see when hiking, or areas in the city or town that are allowed to be unkempt.
I'm new here and still learning the site. Ruth, but I'll figure out the email system to answer your email.

Wilflowerman, great to see the milkweed forum is up and running, I will be checking it regularly no doubt. The new format seems okay.

Monarch-ma, nice pics on the A. fascicularis. I looked at some images, and they have pretty flowers. I have grown A. curassavica for 5 years, and the Monarchs love it. Could not tell you for sure if using a non-native species is safe for the Monarchs, but it doesn't seem to be a problem at least in a local context. I also grow A. incarnata, A. syriaca, A. tuberosa, and other less common species, which are usually used by Monarch females (A. verticillata not used, leaves too skinny I think).

There is a natural variation in cardio-glycoside content across species and individuals. A. curassavica has naturally high levels, which I've read could convey some resistance to predators and OE.

Monarch-Ma -
I would love some of your native milkweed seeds. I have had lots of luck with the A. curassavica . I even have the all yellow kind. I let it reseed itself where it may in my garden. I have tons of seed this year as I started a dedicated "butterfly garden" this year. I will email my address if you would like to trade seeds.

This milkweed (cal. native--A. fascicularis) was only four months old and was the first milkweed plant in my yard-it seeded from 40 year old rootstock in my yard that I'd always 'weeded'. But even being a small plant, maybe 12" wide by 12" high, it had 2 large cats on it! I didn't know what they were but loved them on sight! Taken October 2011. The Monarchs will come to such a small plant, it amazes me. On windy days, I throw the seeds up in the air and hope they find homes.

I read that Monarchs can smell milkweed from 20 miles away
(through their antennae).

Welcome, Duchessof8939 and yeli0507. I have added you both to the list of Milkweed newbies waiting to be adopted.

Fernette, you are most welcome for the seeds! Here's to you have an outstanding butterfly garden for many years.

Monarch-Ma-so.cal, thanks so much for posting those great photos of your milkweed!

Lorabell and yeli0507, please post to the thread what state you are in. You are more likely to be adopted if people know what state you live in & can match appropriate milkweed species for your climate.

andbowen, I have emailed you and posted on this thread that I am interested in adopting you. Please let me know if you are still interested. If I don't hear from you in a week, I'm going to move on to another newbie and assume you are no longer interested in being adopted.

Winter sowing season is starting, which is a perfect way to naturally provide cold, moist stratification for your milkweed seeds. Let Mother Nature do the work for you :)

I'd like to be adopted as a milkweed newbie. My mom would like to start a butterfly garden for Monarchs next summer and I told her I would help her get seeds started. Also, any tips on growing milkweed or any other info on other plants to include for happy monarchs is greatly appreciated. : ) We live in zone 5a.

Welcome, sandy_village, clipclop, and em247! I will be adding you to the list of newbies at the top of this thread.

Lucky you, clipclop! dem_pa has already volunteered to adopt you and should be in touch. Thank you, dem_pa!!

NKUSigEp, if you don't mind, would you please initiate contact with newbies you would like to adopt and let me know who they are so I can mark them down as adopted by you? That way you can send them your mailing address privately.

em247, what state are you in? You are more likely to get adopted if you tell us your state. Zone 5a in Michigan is a much different climate than zone 5a in Idaho. Knowing your state helps people choose appropriate species to send to you.

clipclop, I am assuming you are in Georgia based on your favorite forum on your profile page. Please let me know if this is correct.

I'm going to send one more email to andbowen. If I get no response, I will remove them from the list and adopt the next newbie.

Domehome, your seeds are finally in the mail today! Thank you for your patience, and for sending those stem tops of Asclepias physocarpa from your garden with your envelope! My milkweed leaves are so small and full of black mildew--it's been so difficult feeding so many cats--I was in way over my head-- the big stem tops you sent were a lifesaver!! One top kept 2-3 large instars happy for several days.Thank you!!!

I have offered to adopt Em247 in Iowa. I sent her an email and I'm already packaging up seeds for her. I am particularly interested in helping out in Iowa, since my inlaws live there and it is in a critical region of the US where milkweed is disappearing. Thanks.